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Is State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF (QUS) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF (QUS - Free Report) made its debut on 04/15/2015, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $1.49 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Index.
The MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Capped Index seeks to measure the equity market performance of large and mid-cap companies across the U.S. equity market.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
With one of the cheaper products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.15%.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.40%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For QUS, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 24.4% of the portfolio --while Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 2.84% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 20.75% of QUS's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -1.02% so far this year and is up about 10.54% in the last one year (as of 03/26/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $140.84 and $180.71
QUS has a beta of 0.86 and standard deviation of 11.70% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 538 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $687.3 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $836.24 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
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Is State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF (QUS) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF (QUS - Free Report) made its debut on 04/15/2015, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $1.49 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Index.
The MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Capped Index seeks to measure the equity market performance of large and mid-cap companies across the U.S. equity market.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
With one of the cheaper products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.15%.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.40%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For QUS, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 24.4% of the portfolio --while Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 2.84% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 20.75% of QUS's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -1.02% so far this year and is up about 10.54% in the last one year (as of 03/26/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $140.84 and $180.71
QUS has a beta of 0.86 and standard deviation of 11.70% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 538 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $687.3 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $836.24 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.